re: How did most C-Suite Execs get to that position?

I interact with senior leaders daily. I’ll boil it down to trust, dependability, communication & storytelling.

In terms of actually getting up the ladder, tremendous about of luck and happenstance…preparation meeting opportunity.

For large public companies, one dimension that I think gets overlooked for people with CEO aspirations: You have to get to the middle management roles rapidly early in your career. If you don’t, then you “age out” of achieving the top level jobs. Achieving VP in mid to late 30s…SVP early 40s…creates ability for a Chief role in mid 40s. A board generally wants a CEO with at least a good amount of time of the clock before retirement so early 50s is a target.

Someone getting to a VP rank at 50 just doesn’t have enough years left to get to the top spot very often.

We should also delineate…there is a massive difference between CEO and “Chief XYZ Officer” in F500 settings. Just look at the pay differences between CEO and their direct reports…it’s shocking how quickly the comp bands decrease.